Biosolid compost, sourced from 1.2 million premises in Malaysia, could be beneficial to plants. Studies are being carried out to establish the effectiveness of Biosolid compost derived from sewage sludge as soil enhancers in promoting plant growth. Researchers from University Technology MARA, Sarawak, Malaysia used compost, chicken manure and top soil, to collect data to gauge the growth response in Canna (Canna orientalis) locally known as ‘Bunga Tasbih’ an ornamental plant.
The findings indicate that Biosolid compost derived from sewage sludge has the potential to be a good soil enhancer as compared to other soil enhancers commonly used in horticultural cultivation. Biosolid Compost is derived from treated sewage sludge also known as biosolids. Biosolids are known to be high in organic content which helps improve the quality of soil. Its suitability is further enhanced due to its biologically aerobic process producing high temperatures that is caused by microbial activity during the composting processes which kill pathogenic microorganisms and helps reduce pile volume in 2 to 3 weeks time. Other studies have shown that sewage sludge composting can effectively decompose biodegradable organic matter of sewage sludge and destroy pathogens enriched in sewage sludge into stable end-product, which can be used as fertilizer or soil conditioner.
The researchers conducted a Complete Randomized Block Design experiment, replicated three times, to investigate the growth response of Canna orientalis to the compost. Six treatments were used: biosolid compost, dry aged chicken manure and top soil, each with or without potassium. Potassium was added to gauge the effects on flowering and the number of shoots produced in each treatment over a six months period. The study revealed that, the mean number of shoots by the end of the experiment ranged from 6.68 to 8.30 among the four soil treatment (compost with and without potassium, dried chicken manure with and without potassium). Over the duration of the experiment, compost fared as well or better than chicken manure with respect to mean number of shoots. During the initial stages the plants treated with dried chicken manure had shoots relatively longer when compared to the shoots on plants treated with the compost. At the end of the experiment, the mean height of the additional shoots, which were14 shoots, in the compost treatment was to be significantly taller than the chicken manure treatment plants which produced only 11 shoots. However, it was noted that the production of leaves throughout the experiment was significantly higher on the plant treated with chicken manure as compared to those treated with the compost. Flowering occurred after the fourth month of planting. The flowering of plants treated with chicken manure showed the highest percentage of early flowering, during which the compost treatment had not shown any flowering yet. It was presumed that the early flowering in the chicken manure treatment was triggered by stress that resulted in the early flowering as plant stress is known to trigger “bolting” or unseasonably early flower production. Despite, being a late starter in flowering, the compost treatment plants showed a higher percentage of flowering, recording a 74% at harvesting period as compared to 60% for plants treated with chicken manure with potassium (Table 1).
This study demonstrated that sewage sludge can be successfully converted into compost with beneficial qualities for landscape applications. Compost from sewage sludge showed accelerated growth, higher percentage of flowering. A point to note was that plants treated with sewage compost were able to flower profusely without the addition of potassium, a cost saving element when using compost from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge compost has proven itself to be superior in propagating significantly accelerated plant growth and higher percentage in flowering, therefore qualifying as a highly recommended plant growth enhancer for plant nurseries.
Table 1: The Effect of Biosolid Compost on Flowering Percentage of Canna orientalis
Treatments Cumulative Percentage (%) of Pots with Flowering Plants
4 August 2009 12 August 2009 20 August 2009 27 August 2009 17 September 2009
Compost 0.00 48.15 62.96 62.96 74.07
Compost with K* 6.60 33.33 33.33 40.00 46.67
Chicken Manure 7.70 7.70 23.08 34.62 34.62
Chicken Manure with K* 18.18 18.18 54.55 54.55 59.09
* K - Potassium
Margaret Chan Kit Yok, Ong Mooi Lian, Khong Heng Yen, Hasmah Mohidin and
Zayn Al-abideen Bin Gregory
[email protected]
[email protected]
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sarawak
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sarawak
